


Joyride

by akatsuki_tsukiyomi (Yumi25Nakashima)



Series: First Blush [47]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkwardness, Bad Jokes, Dad Jokes, F/M, Hetalia Countries Using Human Names, Platonic Relationships, Reader-Insert, Silly, Strangers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28549596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yumi25Nakashima/pseuds/akatsuki_tsukiyomi
Summary: Some slow ballad was softly playing in the speakers.She turned back to the clerk. He was putting the last of the glass bottles onto the shelf. His somewhat curly brown hair that he had pulled back into a ponytail with a green ribbon looked soft to the touch, as shaggy as it was. She shifted on her feet, not knowing whether to pass by him or wait for him to get back on his feet.
Relationships: Portugal (Hetalia)/Reader
Series: First Blush [47]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2089500
Kudos: 5





	Joyride

**Author's Note:**

> (F/N) - Reader's First Name  
> (L/N) - Reader's Last Name  
> Himaruya has not given Portugal an official name as of late. I have found two fanon names for him so far—them being João Henrique Lisboa-Carriedo and Gabriel Fernández Carriedo. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I found this prompt on Pinterest, but I'm not entirely sure which site this was originally posted on.

(F/n) groaned as her younger cousin turned up the music even louder, playing some trendy song that she never got around to liking. She pressed her neck pillow against her already earbud-covered ears, trying to block out the catchy beat as she turned up the volume of her phone.

Her brows furrowed and she chewed on her lip incessantly. Every inch of her body itched to burst out in anger and turn off the damned radio, but she knew she would get reprimanded by her parents and her young cousin's parents. She also knew she would have to suffer the even more unbearable noise of her cousin bawling her eyes out dramatically if she had done that.

She sunk deeper into her seat, looking out the window to still only see the road. After three hours of being on the road yet not stepping foot out on it, she felt as though it had been ages since she was last standing. As though hearing her silent plea to take a rest, her father, the driver, soon slowed the car down, approaching a gas station.

"Bathroom break!" He called. Her other cousin, much closer to her age, who had been snoozing and leaning against her quickly shot up in surprise at his uncle's booming voice. He rubbed his eye with one hand and wiped off the drool hanging from his mouth with the other, brushing that hand on his sweater as he yawned.

"Are we there yet?" He asked, his voice hoarse from sleeping.

"Barely," she mumbled back to her cousin. The road trip to her grandparents' that her parents promised would be 'exciting' was on the verge of making her pop open the trunk of the car and jump out just to get away from the 'thrill' of being with her family. On a normal day, they were alright. On other days, they were harrowingly tiresome. The only cousin she could get along with, the boy next to her on the backseat of the family SUV, had dozed off right when they hit the road—leaving her to her misery. Her cousin's sister, on the other hand, was one she didn't get along as well with, especially now that the said girl had yet to get rid of her prepubescent 'holier-than-thou' attitude.

She waited as her mom, aunt, and younger cousin got out of the car, vacating their seats in the middle and letting her push forward the seat in front of her, to scramble out of the vehicle.

"We'll fill up on gas, grab a snack, use the restroom, and meet you all in fifteen or something," her father told the group before she shut the car door behind her cousin. The boy was still half-asleep as he trudged forward, his feet wobbling unsteadily.

(F/n) kept a close eye on him, fearing that he would slam into a wall with how blearily he was closing his eyes, even as she followed her mom into the restrooms.

She walked into the bathroom and toward the large rectangular mirror on the wall in front of the pristine white sinks. She grimaced at her appearance and immediately started running her hands through her matted hair. Her mother laid her handbag down on the small counter space next to her, telling (F/n) to watch over it as she stepped into one of the stalls.

A while later, her mom got out and (F/n) quickly entered an empty stall to relieve herself. As she washed her hands, she felt a craving for something sweet.

"I'll pop into the convenience store for a bit," she told her mom, asking for her wallet that she had stashed into the woman's handbag. Her mother reminded her to be back in time lest her uncle decided to leave her stranded for half an hour as a joke before they drove back to pick her up, given his uncanny sense of humour.

She walked over to the store, glad to have the chance to stretch her legs and feel her feet on the concrete, unmoving floor. As the bell jingled upon her entrance, she found the sole clerk, his feet up on the counter as he tapped away on his smartphone, shoot up and tug down his slightly wrinkled blue vest that branded the convenience store's logo. He had not expected anyone to walk in, she figured, seeing as it looked and felt like a slow day. She looked around, immediately heading toward the aisle of sweets.

Some slow ballad was softly playing in the speakers. She settled on grabbing two packs of gummy bears and a pack of liquorice.

She walked over to the counter and set down the packets of sweets. The store clerk, in his bright blue vest and dark blue sweater underneath, looked at what she had brought.

"That's all?" He asked, his voice husky and smooth. She looked up to meet his genuinely curious olive eyes. She did not deny that being under his gaze made her flush. He was an undeniably attractive young man.

"I think I'll go grab a drink," she said slowly, turning her body away before she tore her eyes from him, going over to the chilled refrigerator doors. He followed her. Behind her, on the aisle of alcoholic beverages, was a small plastic crate on the floor, filled with more drinks that were intended to be put on the shelves. He knelt next to the crate, not minding her as he went about carefully placing the glass bottles orderly.

"Did you know that the first French fries weren't actually cooked in France?" He asked her, out of the blue. She turned her head to look down at him. Before she could impress him with her knowledge that she did know for a fact that the infamous French fries' origins were tied to Belgium, he cracked a boyish grin.

"They were cooked in Greece," he finished, waiting for her reaction. She blinked, trying to process if he was serious or not before realizing a second late that he had been joking and playing around with homophones. He laughed lightly.

" _Eu sinto muito_ , that's not a very good joke, is it?" **I'm sorry** He chuckled sheepishly. She hurriedly shook her head, equally embarrassed at being slow to interpret his joke.

"No, it's, it's good!" She turned back to the glass door in front of her and opened it with a struggled huff, the heavy door refusing to budge under her soft yank. She reached to grab a bottle of iced coffee. She looked down at it and figured her cousin would want one too. She grabbed another.

She turned back to the clerk. He was putting the last of the glass bottles onto the shelf. His somewhat curly brown hair that he had pulled back into a ponytail with a green ribbon looked soft to the touch, as shaggy as it was. She shifted on her feet, not knowing whether to pass by him or wait for him to get back on his feet.

He soon did the latter, towering over her as he grabbed the crate from the floor.

"I'll be with you in a minute, _fofinha_ ," **cutie** He remarked, sending her a smile as he stepped back into what she assumed was the stock room.

She continued to stand where she was before going back to the aisle of sweets, wanting to grab some for her cousins. She brought them back to the counter. The clerk had not yet returned.

She heard the door to the stock room open and close and she turned in its direction to see the tall man walk up to the doughnut stall. He slid open the glass casing and carefully pulled out a chocolate-glazed doughnut and set it in clear paper-thin plastic before placing it into a small brown paper bag. He dropped in two more tissue papers into the bag before he folded it closed and made his way to the counter, smiling as they met eyes.

(F/n) swiftly spun back around, bashfully looking at her food and drinks.

"On a road trip?" He asked as he started scanning her goods. He was looking out of the glass doors of the store and towards where her uncle and father were talking in the parking lot, his fingers deftly continuing their work.

She nodded silently.

" _Ei_ , you're so tense," **hey** he chuckled. She only shrugged, burying her hands into her pockets. He leaned towards her, a sunny smile still on his face.

"Did you know," he started. She looked at him, curious. Was he going to tell her another joke? If he was, she hoped he would have improved his humour in the brief moments that he had been gone.

"Today, my brother asked, " _Can I have a bookmark_?" and I burst into tears. We practically grew up together and he still doesn't know my name!" He laughed at his wince-inducing wit, as he shook his head in glee. She cracked a small smile. Her eyes drifted down to the name on the metal pin he wore on his vest and noted that it was indeed not Mark.

"I got another one," he said. She wondered if he was going to keep going until she left the store. Had he had no one to talk to the whole day? Nonetheless, she found his one-sided banter to be harmless and amusing. It did help that he had a certain charisma and charm to him, appearance-wise and otherwise.

He scanned her drinks.

"I invented a new word: Plagiarism!" He exclaimed. She shook her head and chuckled, memories of her Literature professor turning as red as a tomato at the scandalous crime of the said word in one of his lecture classes coming back to her.

"A bear walks into a bar and says, " _Give me a whiskey and_..." He put the scanner up to his chin as he posed thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling to exaggerate his expression. " _cola_." " _Why the big pause_?" asks the bartender. The bear shrugged. " _I'm not sure; I was born with them_."

She smiled cordially, not wanting to disappoint him with her mediocre reactions. He didn't seem to mind, he seemed satisfied enough that she was paying attention. He finally managed to get through scanning all that she was to pay for and he recited the price as he packed them into a paper bag. She opened her wallet to grab her money just as he started another joke.

"Did you hear about the actor who fell through the floorboards?" She shook her head, her lips already upturned with entertainment as she handed him the exact amount. He grinned back at her, shrugging. "He was just going through a stage."

The receipt printed out and he slipped it into her paper bag before sliding it towards her, along with the paper bag that he had put the doughnut into.

Her eyes widened at the additional bag.

"I didn't pay for that," she started, about to push it away before he gave a soft, friendly smile.

"On the house," he stated. She looked up at him, debating whether to take it or not. She sighed and gave in.

"Thank you," she mumbled meekly, carrying both bags in her hands as she walked towards the door. He quickly rounded the counter, jogging past her to open it for her with a small bow and a wink.

"My pleasure."

As she stepped outside, the day's heat hitting her in the face as she was pulled away from the wonderful air conditioning in the store, she turned back to him before he could close the door.

"Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut?" She asked plainly. His confused eyes immediately twinkled to a knowing and amused shine. He shook his head, waiting for her reply.

"He just needed a little space," she mumbled before turning to walk quickly away, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment and her heartbeat as fast-paced as her footsteps.

As she got back into the back seat of the car with her cousin, he marvelled at the paper bags in her arms. He was now wide awake. She handed him the paper bag full of sweets and their drinks.

She opened the other paper bag, wanting to eat the doughnut before it was smushed during the car ride. She plucked the extra tissues the clerk put in and set it on her lap before reaching further down to gently lift the doughnut.

She licked her lips at the scrumptious looking treat and bit into it after pulling the plastic away. As the car pulled back into the highway, her uncle now at the wheel, she patted around the seat for her phone. Realizing that the discomfort under her was her phone that she had sat on, she looked down to grab it along with her earphones.

She noticed the extra tissue paper. Something was on it. She bit into the doughnut, holding it with her teeth as she held the tissues to her face.

Scribbled messily onto it was a phone number and a name that she recognized was the messy-haired, bright-smiled clerk's. She didn't know if she should be flattered, amused, or slightly creeped out. Maybe she was feeling all of the above, but she acknowledged his confidence and contagious cheerfulness. At least she had been put to a better mood than before she had entered that store.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally published in Wattpad on Aug 5, 2020.


End file.
